Meta fined $25bn for 'lies' over user data privacy
· Technology · BBC News, ABC News (AU)
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion fine following a two-week trial that found the company spent years misleading the public about its user data practices. State lawyers sued the tech giant over statements that user data was never shared with third parties without permission, impacting an estimated two million residents. The penalty matches roughly one quarter of Meta's profits and covers willful misrepresentations spanning from 2010 to 2021. Meta's head lawyer CJ Mahoney stated the ruling makes it impossible to do business in the state and announced plans to appeal. The lawsuit originated from Meta's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal involving data usage during the 2016 US presidential election.
Why it matters
The massive penalty sets a high legal benchmark for state-level enforcement against technology conglomerates over consumer data privacy and corporate dishonesty.
Read the original report — BBC News
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